The low-down on student loan forgiveness

Completing college education is a huge achievement. However, this excitement can be impeded by employment, whether at a lower salary than expected or employment at all. This directly affects the ease of loan repayment. 

One solution to loan repayment struggles is contacting the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Loan forgiveness accommodates repayment leniency and/or strategy for those who have achieved full time (over 30 hours per week) employment, in combination with providing 120 successful and timely payments previously. 

Be aware that loan forgiveness differs from loan discharge, which is rare and granted to unusual circumstances such as bankruptcy, death, and identity theft, for example. 

If you’re considering requesting loan forgiveness, call the loan provider to discuss your reasoning/needs and options. Before you do that, though, let’s have a look at typical employment and education avenues that are more likely to warrant loan forgiveness.

Healthcare sector 

If you’re a doctor, nurse, dentist or any other healthcare professional, loan forgiveness is usually an option. Nurses, for example, could have loan forgiveness of <a href=”https://www.debt.org/students/loan-forgiveness/”>up to 85%</a> if they work in an area that’s either high demand or critically short of nurses. 

Combining healthcare provision with military services will also impact how likely you are to have a loan forgiveness request accepted. There’s the <a href=”https://www.navycs.com/officer/fap.html”>Navy Financial Assistance Program</a>, for example, where, in exchange for eight years of service (both active and reserve), they offer forgiveness of up to $275,000. 

Teaching sector 

Currently, 13 states offer <a href=”https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/teacher”>teaching loan forgiveness</a> of up to $17,500 – on the provision that you’re a highly-qualified science, mathematics, or special education teacher. Other teachers may receive up to $5,000 of loan forgiveness. 

All teachers applying for forgiveness must have been teaching full-time for five years consecutively. Loan forgiveness is particularly applicable to schools in low-income areas. 

Find out more 

If you think you could be eligible for student loan forgiveness, do your research before making a claim. This way, you’ll be informed as to where you stand. Don’t forget to browse our website today for more general advice on student loans to help you stay up-to-date with student loan news.